Great Old Movies Everyone Should Watch
by shagmefrida | created - 19 Mar 2014 | updated - 19 Mar 2014 | PublicThis list goes a bit beyond the standards like The Wizard of Oz and Gone With Wind. A list of terrific old movies everyone should watch at least once, in no particular order.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Approved | 170 min | Drama, Romance, War
Three World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Fredric March, Teresa Wright
Votes: 70,534 | Gross: $23.65M
Won a well deserved Best Picture Oscar in this depiction of vets coming home after WWII. As relevant today as it was in 1946.
2. Gaslight (1944)
Passed | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Ten years after her aunt was murdered in their London home, a woman returns from Italy in the 1880s to resume residence with her new husband. His obsessive interest in the home rises from a secret that may require driving his wife insane.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, May Whitty
Votes: 33,878
A great psychological thriller and where the term "gaslighting" comes from. Some people prefer the slightly earlier English version, I'd say they are both terrific.
3. Auntie Mame (1958)
Approved | 143 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An orphan goes to live with his free-spirited aunt. Conflict ensues when the executor of his father's estate objects to the aunt's lifestyle.
Director: Morton DaCosta | Stars: Rosalind Russell, Forrest Tucker, Coral Browne, Fred Clark
Votes: 12,692 | Gross: $23.30M
Rosalind Russell is simply delicious as Auntie Mame. The whole movie is fun and chock full of great lines.
4. The Letter (1940)
Not Rated | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
The wife of a rubber plantation administrator shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense, but a letter written in her own hand may prove her undoing.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort
Votes: 14,593
A powerhouse performance by Bette Davis and directed by the perennially under-appreciated director William Wyler. A timeless tale of the dark side of the human heart.
5. Born Yesterday (1950)
Not Rated | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A tycoon hires a tutor to teach his lover proper etiquette, with unexpected results.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Judy Holliday, William Holden, Broderick Crawford, Howard St. John
Votes: 12,412
Judy Holliday is brilliant in this classic comedy-romance. A lot of people can't understand why Holliday beat out Bette Davis in All About Eve to win the Best Actress Oscar, but I think it was well deserved in this great comedic performance and I for one cheer the Academy Awards for recognizing it.
6. Some Like It Hot (1959)
Passed | 121 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft
Votes: 283,470 | Gross: $25.00M
Jack Lemmon at his best and Marilyn Monroe at her Marilyn Monroeiest. An absolute timeless comic gem that is a must see.
7. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Approved | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 137,804 | Gross: $8.18M
If you've never been introduced to the great Charles Laughton, here is a great place to start. A witty, courtroom mystery with wonderful performances all around, including the great Marlene Dietrich.
8. Wuthering Heights (1939)
Passed | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson
Votes: 19,766 | Gross: $0.76M
Laurence Olivier is young, beautiful and passionate in his definitive portrayal of Heathcliff. Not particularly faithful to the book. it's best enjoyed on it's own terms.
9. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Passed | 102 min | Comedy
While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled paleontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles, Walter Catlett
Votes: 66,069
Comedy seems to be particularly vulnerable to becoming dated, but this one is just a truly funny classic movie. Hepburn and Grant are wonderful on their own, but together they make another kind of magic.
10. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Passed | 129 min | Drama
An Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin
Votes: 99,929 | Gross: $0.06M
John Steinbeck classic brought to life in this compelling drama led by Henry Fonda's intense performance that helped bring realism to film.
Tell Your Friends